Thoughts on Mud Lake

[gstott]

I've had good success over most of the res. For the perch I've found they're usually a little deeper in the warmer months, in about ten to fifteen feet of water off the weed beds. When the weather started cooling I actually had my best perch action right at the dam when I was getting out of my tube. I'd been flyfishing with sinking line, looking for rainbows, and when it was time to go I trolled my way back to the parking lot. Well, I reeled in my line when I got to shore, and felt a tap or two that said perch. Then I noticed them swimming by just a few feet from shore. So I went and got my ultralight spinning rod out of the car and proceeded to nail the perch until I knew I was really going to get in trouble with my wife if I didn't get home. 1/32 ounce jigs with curly tail grubs have been the most consistent lure for me there. I've also caught them on leech and minnow patterns on my fly rod, and also a few really nice ones with roboworms while dropshotting for bass. I just got some 1/64 ounce jigs and 1" grubs and a 10' ultralight rod that I really want to try up there for the perch. I have a feeling they're going to love those little morsels. As for the bass, pretty much everything works. I've had non stop action with poppers fished around the weed lines in the summer. I've also caught them on streamers and dragon fly nymphs. On my spinning rod I've done well with soft plastic jerk baits, grubs, tubes, spinner baits, and even zara spooks. They were most prevelant along the weed beds that line the shore, but I caught bigger bass fishing the bottom, drop shotting or jigging, out in the middle. The best rainbows were taken on dark leech patterns, dragonfly nymphs, and scuds. I also caught quite a few trout on tubes and grubs while after bass and perch. They're very aggressive at times. The two in the picture with the perch were injured because they inhaled the whole jig and were bleeding. I wouldn't normally keep trout out of a weedy shallow place like that in the summer. The trout seem to cruise the deep side of the weedbeds trying to ambush prey. When the weather cooled, I found the best action on the southwest corner in bit of a cove. I'll post some pics for you from that cove. I caught all three fish from the same spot in about ten minutes the week before Thanksgiving. They all took the same fly, a purple and dark grey leech I'd just made up that morning.
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